Necromantic Nightmares
by JWolfgirl13
Summary: After the events of fourth year, Harry resigns himself to a summer of stressful waiting at the Dursleys. He has no idea what he's in for when Draco Malfoy pays an unexpected visit, toting a silver-eyed blonde with an unusual ability…Rated T because I'm paranoid
1. The Waiting Game

**Author's note: Ok, so this is my first fanfic and the first time I've let anyone read anything I've written, so please cut me some slack. Constructive criticism is welcome :)**

**Summary: After the events of fourth year, Harry resigns himself to a summer of stressful waiting at the Dursleys. He has no idea what he's in for when Draco Malfoy pays an unexpected visit, toting a silver-eyed blonde with an unusual ability…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter franchise!**

Chapter 1: The Waiting Game

Harry James Potter was by no means an ordinary child. At 15 years of age, he had encountered so many challenges that the classic term "Danger Magnet" was one he accepted with dark humor. Most of these challenges arose from Harry's status as a wizard, albeit an underage one. Wizardry certainly did nothing to make Harry more ordinary, what with werewolf professors, three headed dogs, and all other manner of things that were all part of the Hogwarts experience.

As of this summer in particular, Harry was about as happy as he was ordinary. Being tortured and watching the return of an insane megalomaniac tends to bring down one's mood, and Harry was no exception to this phenomenon. Nor was his condition improved by the survivor's guilt that hounded his every nightmare, or the lack of contact with his friends. To be honest, no one would begrudge Harry Potter his irritation, except perhaps Severus Snape, and Harry really didn't give a damn about the opinion of such a slimy git anyway.

Despite any expectations to the contrary, Harry's summer had been remarkably boring thus far, a fact which made him quite nervous. Voldemort had returned, and there had been no death or destruction? It was an absurd notion, one that made his stomach tighten with worry. If nothing had happened yet, he could only assume that when Voldemort did act, it would be on a grand scale. And so Harry spent the first two months of his summer waiting. He waited for his friends to send him news of the Death Eaters' activities. He waited to be retrieved from Privet Drive. He waited for Voldemort to try to kill him for the umpteenth time. And most of all, Harry waited for anything to make the waiting less stressful.

When the other shoe did drop, just as Harry had expected it would, it was not a large presentation. There was no hellfire raining down on Number 4, no cackling Death Eaters, and no sudden flashes of green light that meant another life had been snuffed out. Instead, the fruits of Harry's long summer of waiting took the form of a bruised and bloody Draco Malfoy popping into existence in his front yard. He was cursing up a storm, tugging a bemused looking girl along by the hand toward Harry's front door. His eyes lit up as he saw Harry's stunned form sitting in the flower beds, wand out and held slack in his hand.

"Oi, Potter! Don't just stand there like an idiot, help us inside!" Malfoy called out. Harry simply adopted an indignant expression as he was then chastised for lack of manners. "Honestly," Malfoy continued haughtily, "you'd think Perfect Potter would be a bit more considerate. Some sort of greeting would be called for, at the very least." Here, the blonde girl he was still pulling along stifled a giggle and rolled her eyes apologetically in Harry's direction.

"Be nice, Draco, or he might just hex you," she said teasingly. To Harry, she said, "I'm sorry, my brother's an arse. But he is hurt rather badly; do you think you could help me patch him up? Won't take but a few minutes and we can be on our way." Malfoy shot her a stern look, and then started to object, but Harry cut him off.

"Hand over your wands and I'll help you," he told the girl through his own shock. He was still trying to get over the fact that this unknown girl had called Malfoy her brother, but she had one thing right; Malfoy was a mess. As much as Harry hated the blonde pain in the neck, he wasn't the type to leave someone bleeding on the street. And so he accepted both Malfoy's and his sister's wands—despite Malfoy's protests—and snuck them in through the garage, thanking Merlin that the Dursleys were out for the day. Once they were settled into Harry's room, and he had anything he might need, Harry raised his eyebrows and just waited. Eventually, Malfoy looked down, sighed, and offered a compromise:

"You patch me up, and I'll tell you exactly what happened."

And so began the next chapter of Harry's very complicated life.


	2. The Tale

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Just wanted to say thanks for reading :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter franchise!**

Chapter 2: The Tale

As Malfoy struggled to find the words to begin his tale, Harry began mopping the blood off of his face. He took a moment to examine the girl Malfoy had brought with him. His "sister," as the two were apparently claiming. Harry had to admit, they looked enough alike to be some sort of relation to the Malfoy heir, what with the platinum blonde hair and similar, aristocratic facial features. And yet, the mystery girl looked far less…severe than Malfoy. Her features were soft in comparison to his sharp, angular looks, and her eyes sparkled with both concern for her brother and a friendly curiosity. And the eyes, that was another difference. Whereas Draco Malfoy had almost fluorescent blue eyes, this girl had eyes of some odd silver color that he had never seen on a person before. One could almost say they were spectral, like the eyes of a ghost.

It was as Harry was observing his mysterious visitor that Malfoy began to speak. "The majority of this mess came about via the Death Eaters at today's meeting, though the Dark Lord had more than his fair share of it, stupid bastard that he is," he started casually, wincing as Harry had to scrub particularly hard at a nasty cut on his temple. Harry stopped his ministrations at _that_ comment, staring at the blonde boy in disbelief. "What, you think I liked the psycho? 'Course not, he tortures the people that like him more than the ones that don't! Who the hell would want something like that? And even if he didn't, he tried to hurt Lyra, and I won't stand for that."

"Lyra? Who's that, your girlfriend?" Harry asked in the silence that followed. There was a chuckle from behind him, and he turned to see the silver eyed girl step forward with a soft smile on her face.

"I'm Lyra, actually. Draco's the epitome of 'over-protective big brother,' and I'm odd enough for that to make his life difficult," she explained, shooting Malfoy an apologetic look. Harry hid his surprise by busying himself untangling some of the bandages from the first aid kit. He picked a long, sturdy ACE bandage and began wrapping up Malfoy's forehead. Lyra continued, "This time I just happened to mouth off to the wrong person and royally pissed him off. Turns out murdering psychopaths don't like when you chastise them in front of their followers."

Harry snorted in disbelief. "You _told off_ Voldemort? Would've like to see that, he's so full of himself he can't have taken it well."

"Yeah, well, he didn't," Malfoy cut in. "Soon as Lyra finished speaking, he started screaming and hexing, and it was just a huge bloody mess. I had all of ten seconds to push her to the floor before the first cutting hex shot across the room." He bit back a groan as Harry began examining his mottled left arm. Harry shot him a sympathetic grimace, trying to be gentler. Mostly satisfied with their description of Malfoy's injuries, he began to ask questions to fill in a few of the blanks.

"So Voldemort and his Death Eaters did this? How did you get out of there, then? And why were you even around them?" He began to get angry as the implications of their presence became clear. "Invited to the meeting, were you?" He asked spitefully. "Were you excited to be invited to be a Junior Death Eater so early? Probably thrilled—"

"OI! Want to actually wait until he answers you before you make him out to be the villain?" Lyra was glaring at him with a burning anger that belied her soft nature from before. Her eyes were like molten lead, as if someone had boiled down bullets. Her hands were balled into fists and her entire frame shook with fury. Malfoy was shooting her wary looks, but he did not look offended in the least by Harry's comments.

"Honestly, Lyra, with how I've had to act at school, I'm surprised we were even let into the house. If Potter wasn't such a stupid Gryffindor," he sneered, "he would've left us on the street and probably called the aurors to boot." His expression turned thoughtful. "Though, I don't suppose they would've come if you called, what with the Prophet is saying and all that. I banked on the fact that everyone thinks you're mad to keep out of the Ministry's attention."

Harry looked outraged. "Mad?! Is that what they're calling me now? Bloody hell, Voldemort _is _back, when is Fudge going to accept that?! I wouldn't make something like that up! I'm not mad!" Malfoy cut him off quickly, before his rant could continue.

"I didn't say you were! In Merlin's name, Potter, we just got out of a Death Eater meeting, you really think we're going to mock you for being mad? Calm down." He met Harry's sheepish expression with a level glare, before gesturing pointedly at his arm. "We had a deal. You patch me up and I'll explain everything." Harry rolled his eyes, but reached once more for the bandages. He began at the wrist, wrapping the gashes on Malfoy's arm tightly.

"Right, then. As I was about to say, we were at the meeting because the Dark Lord had dropped in on our home for the night before calling everyone. Mother had been planning on getting Lyra and I out of there before that could happen, but it was unexpected. Since he was there, the Dark Lord asked to be introduced to the kids, Lyra and I, so that he could 'properly influence the next generation.' Mother and Father had no choice, so they brought us in and Lyra…" here, Malfoy hesitated, before finishing with, "made him angry. I pulled her out of the way, was hurt in the process, and then got ferried off to a random spot by Lyra, who had a portkey to our safe house."

"I take it one of you Apparated here, then?" Malfoy nodded and pointed again to his sister. "Impressive, you're not supposed to be able to do that until you're seventeen." Lyra blushed at the compliment, but smiled ruefully at his implied disbelief. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind explaining how that's even possible. Or how you managed to piss off Voldemort enough that he attacked you straight off the way he did." Harry finished off bandaging Malfoy, shutting the first aid kit and crossing his arms as he waited for clarification from the strange, undiscovered sibling of the Malfoy heir.

Lyra sighed deeply. "Alright," she said heavily, "I suppose the first thing you need to know about me is that I was born with an unusual gift…"

**And done for now! Sorry about the kind of slow update, I'll try to be quicker. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Soul Magic

**Author's Note: Hey all! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and a Happy Father's Day :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything from its franchise, nor do I own the Sixth Sense movie, which is briefly mentioned :)**

Chapter 3: Soul Magic

"An 'unusual ability?' What kind of unusual ability are we talking, like walking on walls or something?" Harry was confused. They lived in the magical world. What could possibly be construed as unusual when people performed incredible feats every day? Lyra didn't look that strange, apart from her weird eyes. Maybe she could see through walls, like Moody.

"Not quite…" Lyra said quietly, interrupting his amusing imaginings of her with two madly spinning eyeballs. She took a deep breath, glancing at Malfoy. He nodded, and this seemed to bolster her confidence. "You see," she said, "I'm what you call a necromancer. It means that I have power over souls, at least in certain aspects."

"What, like the kid from _Sixth Sense_? 'I see dead people' and all that nonsense?" Harry laughed, sure she was trying to pull one over on him. Honestly, she deals with souls, he didn't know who she thought she was kidding. Malfoy simply raised his eyebrows and smirked, but Lyra looked insulted.

"It's not nonsense!" she half shouted, glaring at Harry. "For your information, I can 'see dead people' as you so ineloquently put it, at least if they're recently dead. And I can see live people too! That's why I pissed the Dark Lord off so much, because his soul was wonky and I started rambling about it." Here, she blushed, once again shooting her brother an apologetic look that he simply waved away.

Harry sighed. "Alright," he said, "let's assume that what you're saying is true. How does that explain the fact that nobody at school knows you exist? And how does this 'ability' work? You just call on the ancient spirits or some mumbo jumbo and they pop up to say hello?" The tidbit about Voldemort's soul being "wonky" was interesting, but Harry wasn't quite sure he even believed Lyra had the talent she was claiming to possess. If she proved it, he'd push that issue further.

"My ability works in a few different ways. For one, my eyes are different, as you might have noticed. I've got extrasensory receptors that help my brain process spectral presences, like the souls of the recently dead and the living. I have to focus harder to catch the souls of the living, as that's seen through skin, muscle, and bone, but anyone who dies has to spend a bit of time in transition before they move on. They're just floating around, so I can see them better," she hesitated again. "It's rather interesting to watch them, really. They all act so differently that it leaves a lot to ponder. But it's always bittersweet to see them go on, happy because they're finally free from all the pain in their lives, but sad because of what they leave behind," she said with a serene smile.

Malfoy stared at his sister with a soft, brotherly smile on his face. There was a certain awe in his eyes, as if he was both surprised and unsurprised at the depth of feeling that was present in his sister's speech. Harry, on the other hand, was thunderstruck by the end of her explanation. It was complex, too convoluted to be a story. Maybe he was too much of a Gryffindor, a little too trusting for his own good, but he found himself captivated by her descriptions in a way that had him fully believing what she said. After a small beat of silence, Malfoy started speaking.

"As for her being hidden, that was my parents' idea, mostly Mother's. There hasn't been a necromancer around in over a century, and it's considered by many to be a dark gift. Similar to your Parselmouth abilities," he said with a smirk. Harry quickly realized where this explanation was headed and found himself in agreement with the Malfoy matriarch. "Mother didn't want Lyra persecuted, used, or studied by the Ministry, so we kept her birth a secret. Father claimed that the baby was stillborn and Lyra was raised by my parents in secret. Every now and then they Polyjuice her with hairs from a random girl whose father is friends with ours, so that she can go out and have a bit of freedom." Lyra snorted with derision, obviously disagreeing with that last statement. Malfoy glared at her, opening his mouth to chastise his sister when she interrupted him.

"I know they do it for my own good, Drake. It doesn't mean I have to like it." Harry couldn't help but agree with Lyra's assessment. Most of the decisions made for him in life were without his consent and for his own good, and he hated a majority of them. It wasn't hard to believe that she would dislike being shut away. It looked like an argument was about to erupt, and with a skill honed from years of breaking up Ron and Hermione's fights, he quickly interrupted with an important question.

"I think I can try to believe what you're saying, though I can't say for certain yet. What does your necromancy have to do with you showing up at my door?" For this was something Harry could not understand. Even if Malfoy _was_ injured, why come to Harry? After all, the boys were enemies; they'd hated each other from the start, though they had been getting along thus far. Harry blamed the civil interaction on Malfoy's injuries and Harry's shock.

"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" Malfoy exclaimed, staring at Harry expectantly. When he was met by a blank stare, the blonde snorted in shock. "Wow, you really are an idiot, Potter," he said spitefully. And then he said something that Harry never though he would hear from Draco Malfoy's mouth. "We need to contact Albus bloody Dumbledore and get his help. Something's up with the Dark Lord's soul, and I'm quite certain he'll kill my sister over it. So we're going to give that fool of a Muggle-lover enough information to kill him first."


	4. Swearing and Giggles

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, I've been working a summer camp for 9+ hours a day, and the kids (however great they are) are running me ragged :) I'll try to be better about updating! Also, hope everyone is having an awesome summer thus far!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters, no matter how amazing that would be :)**

Chapter 4: Swearing and Giggles

Harry was locked in a state of shock. Draco Malfoy, pureblood extremist and bully extraordinaire, wanted Voldemort killed. He actually wanted to work with Dumbledore. What kind of messed up world was this? Still, even if Malfoy was lying, it might be useful to take him to Dumbledore. The blonde might have some information that they could get through Veritaserum. And (though Harry did not want to admit it to himself), he really didn't like the idea of sending Malfoy and his sister back to people capable of making Malfoy the absolute bloody mess he was. Harry might hate the spoiled idiot, but he didn't want anyone dead. And so, Harry sighed and turned towards the parchment on his desk, taking a quill into his hand. How to put this?

Lyra stepped up beside him, hopefully to help Harry put into words what was probably one of the weirdest experiences he'd had thus far, when she suddenly gasped and froze. Harry turned abruptly at the sound, just in time to catch her staring in horror at something behind him. Except there was nothing behind him…was she really staring at _him_ with such terror in her eyes? Her complexion had paled to a color whiter than her platinum blonde hair and her eyes were wide as saucers. Malfoy was staring at her in fear and concern, one arm outstretched as if to calm her. Slowly, Harry raised both hands off of the desk into the classic position of surrender. He backed away from the horrified girl, confusion in his eyes as she flinched as if in pain. Ever so slowly, the terror drained from her face, anger slowly creeping into her expression. She made both Malfoy and Harry jump about a mile when she let loose a hateful snarl.

"What has he _done_?! Oh, I'll kill him. I'll damn well kill him! Slimy son of a—" here her rant broke into a rather long string of highly creative swear words. She was pacing, every now and then stopping to stare at Harry once more, pity and anger fighting for dominance on her face. She quit her swearing long enough to call out a desperate "WHY?!" at Harry, who was quickly becoming offended by the swears she had thrown in his direction, before continuing on. It was not until she concluded her murderous monologue with, "—no-nosed, half-witted, frigid son of a rattlesnake!" that Harry realized she was talking about Voldemort. He looked himself over and caught Malfoy doing the same. Honestly, Harry didn't feel any different…how could Voldemort have done something to him without his notice? It had to be something bad for an outright stranger to react so violently.

"Do you have a wizarding guardian, Mr. Potter?" Lyra asked suddenly. She seemed to have calmed, if only slightly, and plopped down next to her brother with an irritated huff. Harry thought to himself, thinking of Sirius almost instantly but unsure if it was safe to trust these two with knowledge that Harry communicated with him. He had decided against it, hesitantly shaking his head, when Malfoy rolled his eyes. "We already know Black is innocent, Potter," he announced, grinning smugly when Harry stared back blankly. "I mean, he is your godfather, isn't he? Are you in touch with him, Potter?" At Harry's even more hesitant nod, Lyra cut her brother off. "Is he at wherever Dumbledore is?" Again, Harry nodded. Lyra clapped her hands together and motioned back to the desk.

"Alright then," she said, "we'll talk to him when we show up to wherever your lot is meeting up." Harry was confused. Why the hell did she need to talk to Sirius? Wary of whatever was wrong with him that had caused his sudden house guest to erupt in such a manner, Harry set to writing a message for Dumbledore, a message that would have to be the epitome of stealth.

_Snuffles,_

_You're never going to believe this, but Blondie showed up at my door. He was a mess and says he has an interesting story to tell about his pet snake. My cousin is here with him, and she's really excited to see you. Can we come visit sometime soon? Ask your boss if you can take off work to come see us._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Harry_

He turned the note over to his blonde companions proudly, allowing them to inspect his work. Malfoy scowled as he reached the end and Lyra burst into hysterical giggles. Harry snatched the letter back quickly, holding it tightly and glaring at the two. "What? I think it's brilliant, it's got to be secretive or someone can intercept it!" He pouted as all this brought was another round of laughter from the female Malfoy. She put a hand on his shoulder, ceasing her laughter in an attempt to placate him.

"Mr. Potter, it's a…beautiful letter. You did great. Draco's just mad because you called him Blondie," here she giggled again, "but really, it's wonderful. Go ahead and send it, quickly." She offered him a smile and patted his shoulder. Harry, feeling both inexplicably pleased at her assessment and irritated with her treating him like a child, rolled up the letter and unlocked the door to Hedwig's cage. She diligently held out her foot, which he tied the letter to, and took off. The three teens watched as the snowy owl flew away, then turned awkwardly to each other to wait for a reply.


	5. Stupid Situations

**Author's Note: I'm sorry guys! I swear I'm not taking forever on purpose. Hope you all like the new chapter! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not—and unfortunately never will—own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 5: Stupid Situations

Thankfully for both Harry and Malfoy's sanity, their letter reached a reply incredibly quickly. In fact, not five minutes after it was sent, the doorbell rang and a rather harried knocking began on the front door. Harry's eyes widened and he glanced cautiously at his companions. Without even considering what he was doing, Harry handed Malfoy and Lyra their wands back, motioned for them to cover him, and crept downstairs. Malfoy hauled himself off the bed quickly, stepping up behind Harry and pointing his wand at the door, Lyra swiveling around to cover the rear.

Poor Remus Lupin received the shock of his life when the door upon which he was knocking was suddenly wrenched open and he was grabbed by the collar of his robes. The pale hand yanked him inside and put a wand to his throat. He put his hands up in surrender, trying to formulate a plan, when he realized that the hand gripping his robes so tightly belonged to the very boy he was here to see. His shoulders relaxed and he felt the tension leave his body as it registered that Harry was alive, unharmed, and capable of protecting himself at that moment.

Harry, on the other hand, felt anything but relaxed. The man looked like Professor Lupin, but how could he have come so quickly? Hedwig hadn't even had time to get anywhere; the Professor would have had to be in the neighborhood to catch her. Perhaps he was a Death Eater in disguise? Harry looked to Malfoy and Lyra, gesturing with his head toward the Lupin look-alike. Lyra shrugged, but Malfoy said darkly, "Check him." And so Harry pressed his wand tighter into the man's throat, asking sharply, "What is my Patronus and how did I learn to conjure one?"

Lupin gave a soft smile. "Your Patronus is a Stag, an almost perfect replica of your father's Animagus form. I taught you how to conjure it in your third year. We used a Boggart for practice. As a side note, it's good to see that you're taking your safety so seriously." There was silence for a beat, and then Harry grinned and put his wand down, motioning for the others to do the same. Malfoy did not look reassured to be in the presence of his former werewolf professor, but he did lower his wand. Harry stepped forward to shake Lupin's hand, and was surprised when he was tugged into a hug instead. The two blondes hung back, Lyra out of respect and Malfoy out of discomfort.

"So what are you doing here? How'd you get here so fast?" Harry asked, once he was released from his former professor's hold. Lupin's expression became serious. "The Order has been keeping an eye out for you; I just started watch and saw Hedwig, so I called her down. I read your note and figured this was something that needed to be addressed, quckly. I've talked to Dumbledore, and I'm to bring all three of you to Headquarters. How soon can you be packed?" He stopped to allow Harry to answer and was met by two dumbfounded expressions and one irritated one. He turned to the girl—the one who appeared to be annoyed with him—to shed some light on the boys' shock.

Lyra simply snorted and began lecturing. "They've just learned you're spying on Mr. Potter without his knowledge and can be in contact with the 'good' side's leader in all of five minutes. Give them a second to get their bearings straight. Honestly." She huffed and turned to go back upstairs. "Mr. Potter?" She enquired lightly, waiting until she had his attention before continuing. "Do you want help packing? We should probably get a move on." Harry nodded, still fighting confusion and anger, and followed the necromancer up to his room. Malfoy lingered only a second longer before hurrying upstairs with a startled yelp at being left behind. Lupin blinked, sighed, and then facepalmed as the stupidity of the situation hit him.

With the Malfoy siblings' help, packing Harry's belongings took a very short amount of time, and the three of them were soon back downstairs with Lupin. He lined the three of them up in front of him, taking out his wand as he did so. "Alright. We'll be travelling by Flew to the house of an Order member and from there, we will fly to headquarters. Some more members will meet us at the Tonks' to travel with us. You all need to be very careful, especially you two," he said, pointing at Draco and Lyra Malfoy. "Many of the guard might see you as a threat, so be on your best behavior. Are we all clear?" The three teens nodded, though Malfoy looked mutinous. Lupin shrunk Harry's luggage and herded them across the street to Mrs. Figg's.


End file.
